The Leopard and The Jackal
by kiyone4ever
Summary: Tenchi Universe, Tenchi GXP crossover. The most feared pirate in the galaxy finds himself pursued by the galaxy's toughest bounty hunter.


Hi! This is just a quick one shot I've had in mind for awhile.

Disclaimer: I do not own either **_Tenchi _**or **_Tenchi GXP_**, nor any of the characters therein.

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The Leopard and The Jackal **

His name was Tarrant Shank, warrior and pirate. He was the most ruthless and feared cutthroat in the galaxy. His exploits were renowned across space for their viciousness... Indeed it had been said that for Tarrant, profit was often less of a motive than the blood and fear that he could generate.

Such a man was to be expected to have enemies of course...

Kiyo Kamachi for one. The former Pirate Commander sickened Shank with all of her "Code of Honor" righteousness. She was one who had seen fit to undermine his plans in the past. The woman acted more like a professional naval officer than a pirate...

But then all too many of the fools that Daluma had surrounded himself with lacked the edge that any great pirate needed. Certainly Daluma's own conduct upon learning of Tarrant's attempt to blackmail Ryoko Balta underscored his point. If an officer under _Tarrant's_ command had seen fit to act outside of his authority, then such an officer would surely had paid for his transgression with his life...

Ryoko Balta... Former Pirate Queen and favorite of all the pubescent fanboys in the GP. While Tarrant admitted the woman _had_ been a very skilled raider in her day, she was hopelessly soft. Her compassion for her crew and then that wretched Seina Yamada was a weakness that had led to her betrayal of the Daluma Guild.

_Seina Yamada_... How Tarrant hated that miserable whelp! A soft, crybaby child whose penchant for luck had cost Tarrant dearly. His mechanical hand clenched hard as he thought about that insufferable child. Yamada had invoked a blood feud over the imprisionment of Tarrant's father. To date, Yamada had cost him two ships, an eye, an arm, and a leg... his body now almost fifty percent cybernetic. Tarrant had even had the humiliation of being temporarily imprisoned before the right combination of bribes and threats had paved the way for his escape. Yamada would pay for Tarrant's humiliation. With interest. And that Kiriko with him... A cruel smile played along his features as he contemplated all the ways he could kill them. All of them slow and painful...

Of course, there were always bounty hunters... hundreds of them across the galaxy tempted by the prospect of the riches to be had and the glory won at his expense. He had killed many such individuals who had been foolish enough to try...

On screen, the strange white ship was beginning to close on them. It was time that another hunter learned that some prey was best left alone.

"Fire Aft Missile Clusters!" Shank ordered as the white ship continued to close. Six stern mounted missile tubes belched fire as three waves of multiwarhead missiles spat towards the target. For a moment, it seemed as if the other craft had not even noticed the hail of missile fire as it drew closer. Its course not veering in the slightest. Then suddenly a storm of violet hued laser fire erupted in answer.

"All missles in the first volley have been destroyed Captain!" The sensor operator reported.

Shank glared at his tactical plot. He had launched too soon and now their pursuer was closing too fast to launch a second volley. "Ready aft Plasma Cannon!" He barked, slamming a fist down on the arm of his chair. _"Fire!"_ two greenish bursts of energy cut loose and then the cannons went into rapid fire mode. The white ship rocked from several direct hits but did not waver from its pursuit.

"Range fifteen hundred and closing fast sir!" The operator reported.

"Hard about! Ready the main batteries!"

But even as the massive pirate cruiser turned, Tarrant saw that his pursuer had actually _increased_ speed. They would not be able to turn the forward batteries to bear before the other ship reached them. It was insane Shank thought. _A bear being tackled by a housecat..._

Presently... Said cat loosed its claws upon his ship as the violet beams... Fewer and much heavier this time... lashed out at his ship. The bridge shook violently.

"Damage reports Captain!" An officer shouted. "Jump engines down. Damage on decks four through seventeen! Casualties..."

Tarrant cut him off. "Enough!" He turned to the helmsman. "Turn us faster! We'll ram this insect and crush it against our hull!"

The helmsman nodded, but the agile white ship merely danced around them and then one of the long white protrusions lanced into their hull.

"Hull breach on deck two frame Fivetwenty Sir! We're being boarded!"

"Dispatch troops at once! Ten million gold credits to the man who brings me that bounty hunter! Dead or alive!"

Tarrant gripped the arms of his chair hard as he fought the growing pit in his stomach. For the first time in his adult life, Tarrant Shank felt fear. The minutes passed as reports of the intruder came in. Each one followed by the sound of combat, and then silence once more...

Now the sounds drew closer and Shank could hear the rumble of explosions echoing through the ship. He turned to his first lieutenant. "Take every available man and secure the access to the bridge!"

"Captain?" The officer hesitated. Shank grabbed him and flung him towards the hatch.

_"Get out there now!"_

As the shaken officer complied and nodded for most of the bridge crew to follow, the hatch blew in at them with force, hurtling several who had been close to it to the deck. Shank turned to see the cloaked and hooded figure cut down the remaining crew who dared to provoke her and saw as several merely froze or cowered behind their stations. Shank swore as he fixed eyes on the bounty hunter.

"Nagi!" He cursed as he went for his blaster. Her eyes narrowed and his blaster was yanked from his grasp with a laser lasso. He furiously brought his cybernetic arm up to fire its own weapons but never had a chance as her sword sliced through the composite arm and it fell useless to the deck. Shank's eyes went wide as he saw his severed arm and he madly lunged at his opponent.

Nagi calmly stepped aside and kicked him in the rear, encouraging his forward momentum and sending him face down into the deck. He turned to see the bounty hunter standing over him...

"Quite an accomplishment, bringing me in. Isn't it?" He asked her through bloody lips as she stood dispassionately looking down at him.

Nagi looked down upon the pirate with loathing and disgust. If she had her way, she would prefer to kill this vermin where he was. Unfortunately, there had been recent effort to regulate the bounty hunter trade. 'Dead or Alive' was becoming out of style and that made this vermin worth more living than dead, but she was sorely tempted.

Nagi snorted her contempt of this man. "You're nothing special Shank. Nothing special at all..."

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**The End**


End file.
